The Practice of Prelates, Part 7
¶A propre similytude to describe our holy father.
And to see how oure holy father cā vp marke the ensample of an yuirtre: first it springeth out of ye earth & then a whyle crepeth a longe by the groū de tyll it fynde a great tree: then it ioyneth it selfe byneath a lowe vntounto the body of ye tre, & crepeth vp a lytle and a lytle fayre ād softely. And at the begīning whyle it is yet thyn and small that the burthē is not perceaued, it semeth glorious to garnysh the tre in the winter and to beare of the tēpestes of the wether. But in the meane ceasō it thrusteth his rootes into the barke of ye tree to hold fast withall / and ceasseth not to …ym vppe tyll it be at the toppe / and aboue all. And then it sendeth his braunches along by th… braunches of the tree, and oue… groweth all and waxeth greate, heuye and thyck and sucketh ye moystoure so sore out of the tre ād his braunches, that it choketh and st…fleth them. And then the foule styncking yuye waxeth myghty in the scōpe of the tre ād becometh a seat ād a nest for all vncleane, bird…s ād for b…inde oules which hauke in the darke and dare not come at ye lyght.
Euen so the bisshop of Rome now called POPE, at the b…gining crope a longe vponupon the earth, and eueryevery man trode vpō him in this worlde. But as sone as there came a christen Emperour, he ioyned him self vntounto his fete and kyssed them, and crope vp a lytle with begging now this priuilege, now that, nowe this citie now that / to fynde poore people with all and the necessary ministers of Gods word.the chosīg… of the pope & al bisshopes p…rtayned vntounto ye ēpe…our & kynges once. And he entitled the Emperour with chosyng the pope and other bisshopes / and promoted in ye spiritualte, not whom vertue ād learning but whom the fauour of greate men commended, to flatter to get frendes ād defenders with all.
the almesseAnd the almesse of the congregacyon which was the fode and patrimony of the poore and necessary preachers,geuē vntounto ye poore is become. S peters patrymonye. that he called saīt Peters patrimony, saynt Peters rentes, saynt Peters lands, saynt Peters right; to cast a vayne feare & an hethenish supersticiousnes into ye hartes of mē, that no man shuld dare meadle with what soeuer came once into their hādes, for feare of saynt Peter, though they ministred it neuer so euel: and that they which shuld thinke it no…e almesse to geue thē any more (because they had to much alreadye) shuld yet gyue saynt Peter somwhat (as N…buchodonesser gaue his God B…ell) to purchesse an aduocate and an intercessor of saynt Peter,Danielis xiiij. and that saynt Peter shuld at ye fyrste knocke, let them in.
And thus with flateringe and fayning and vayne superst…cion vnderunder the Name of Saynt Peter, he crept vp and fastened hys rootes in the harte of the Emperour, and wyth hys swerde clame vp aboue all his felow bishoppes and brought them vnd his fete. And as he subdued them wyth the Emperours swerd, euen so by subtilty & helpe of them (after that they were sworne faythfull) he clam aboue the Emperoure / and subdued hym also and made hym s…oupe vntounto his fete / and kysse them an other whyle. Yea Pope Calestinus crouned the Emperour Henrye the fift, holdynge the crowne betwene his fete. And when he had put ye crowne on / he smote it of wt his fete agayn, sayeng: that he had myght to make Emperours and to put them do… ne agayne.
And he made a constitucion that no lay man shuld meddle wc theyr maters, nor be in theyr counsels or witte what they did, & that the Pope only shuld call the counsell / and the Emperour shuld but defende the Pope: prouyded alwaye that the counsell shuld be in one of the Popes townes, and where the popes power was greater then the Emperours: then vnderunder a pretence of cōdempnyng some heresye / he called a generall counsell / where he made one a patriarcke, an other Cardinal / an other Legate, an other Primate▪ an other Archbysshop / an other Bysshoppe, an other Deane, an other Archdeacon and so forth, as we now see.
And as the Pope played with the Emperour / so did his braunches and hys mē bres the bisshops play in eueryevery kingdome duckedom and lordshyp, in so much that ye very heyres of them,Qualis pater talis filius. Good naturall chylderen. by whome they came vp / hold nowe their londes of them and take them for their chefe lordes. And as the Emperour is sworne to the pope, euen so eueryevery kyng is sworne to the bisshopes and prelates of the realme: ād they are the chefest in all perliamentes: yea they and their money and they that be sworn to them ād come vp by them / rule all together.
And thus the pope the father of all hypocrites hathe wyth falshod and gyle peruerted the order of the worlde and turned the rootes of the trees vpwarde and hath put doune ye kingdō of christ,the popysh order compared wt Chrystes▪ & set vp ye kīgdome of the deuell whose vycar he is, and hath put downe the ministers of christ, ād hath set vp the ministers of Sathan, disgised yet in names and garments lyke vntounto ye aūgels of lyght / and ministres of rightuousnes. For Chrstes kingdom is not of the world Ihon. xviij. ād the Popes kingdom is all the world.
And Christ is nether iudge nor diuyder in this world Luke .xij· But the pope iudgeth and deuideth all the worlde & taketh the empyre & al kingdoms and geueth thē …o whom he lusteth.
Christ sayth Math. v. Blessed are the pore in spyrite: so that the fyrst steppe in ye kingdom of Chryst is humblenes or hum… …ytie that thou canst fynde in thyne hart to do seruice vntounto all mē, and to suffer that al men treade the.
The Pope saith. Blessed be the proude and hyghminded that can clym and subdue all vnderunder them and mainteyne their ryght and such as wyll suffre of no man / so yt he which was yesterday taken from the donghyll and promoted this daye by his prince, shall to morrow for the popes pleasure cu… se him & excommunicate hym, and interdyte hys royalme.
Chryst sayth. Blessed be the meke or softe that be harmlesse as doues.
The pope blesseth them that can set all the world together by the eares and fyght and slea manfully for his sake, that he may com h…te from bloudsh…ading to a bysshopry…e as our Cardinal dyd, and as Saynte Thomas of Canterbury dyd / which was made bysshop in ye feld, in complete harnesse on his horsebacke and hys speare bloudy in hys hande.
Chryst hath nether holes for foxes, nor … for byrds, nor yet wheron to lay his head, nor promysed ought in thys woorlde vntounto hys dyscyples nor toke any to hys d… sciple but him that had forsaken all.
The yuytre the Pope hath vnderunder hys rootes throughou… all chrystendome in eueryevery vi…lage holes for foxes, and nestes for vncleane byrdes in all his braunches, and promyseth vn…o his discyples all the promocyons of the worlde.
The nerer vntounto Chryst a man cometh, the lower he must d…scende and the Poorer he must waxe: but the nerer vntounto the pope ye come the hygher ye must clim and the more ryches ye must gather whence soeuer ye cā gett them, to paye for your bulles, and to purchase a glorious name & lycence to weare a mytre and a crosse and a pale and goodlye ornamentes.